DMN Blog: Mosley's Scrimmage Report

• I know it's early, but CB Terence Newman is on the verge of becoming a special player. He rarely gets beat and makes plays against the run. WR Terrance Copper looked a little woozy after Newman raced up and decked him after a short pass. The ball popped out for an incomplete pass.

• The Cowboys are doing everything they can to keep FB Lousaka Polite on this team. He's becoming comfortable in the F-back position. Polite's also starting to get the ball quite a bit around the goal line. He had a 3-yard touchdown Saturday.

• Oh yeah, you wanted some Bobby Carpenter news, didn't you? Well, he had two sacks Saturday. He could end up being one of the more versatile players on the team. He's smart enough to learn the outside and inside linebacker positions. He also made some nice plays in pass coverage.

When Drew Bledsoe dumped the ball to Julius Jones, Carpenter closed on him quickly. I'm not sure whether it will be inside or outside, but Carpenter will be starting soon.

• DE Chris Canty had two sacks Saturday. The first one was a coverage sack, but on the second one, he just exploded past an offensive tackle. Canty even did a strange-looking sack dance after the second one.

It's remarkable to watch a 6-7 guy with this much quickness. Canty and Spears have the talent to become one of the best DE tandems in the league.

• A lot of us had dismissed TE Tony Curtis' chances of making this team, but he made some nice plays in the passing game Saturday. He almost made a miraculous catch on a ball from Tony Romo early in the scrimmage. Later, he reached high in the air to snag a Romo pass without ever breaking stride. Very nice scrimmage for Curtis.

• Really, really quick hits: Ryan Hannam had a one-handed catch of a Drew Henson pass...Tim Cowlishaw's favorite player on this roster, LB Junior Glymph, hit Tyson Thompson for no gain on one play...Sam Hurd's leaping 24-yard catch early in the scrimmage may have been his best. He showed great body control during his catches...Patrick Crayton was called for pass interference...Pat McQuistan was called for holding on a running play...Aaron Glenn raced over to break up a Drew Bledsoe pass early in the scrimmage. Glenn's having a nice camp...Kicker Shaun Suisham missed a 50-yard field goal, but then made a 47-yarder. Mike Vanderjagt nailed a 44-yard FG after Romo's first drive...Cowboys kid and former Texas Tech linebacker John Saldi sacked Bledsoe on one play...A few plays later, DeMarcus Ware ran over Fasano on his way to sacking Bledsoe...Don't want to shock you with this, but LT Flozell Adams was called for false start. I did hear Parcells blame it on Romo, though...The Cowboys are taking the day off, so we're going to do the same this afternoon.

Log on early and often Monday.

Posted by Matt Mosley at 11:54 AM (E-mail this entry) | Comments (0)

Lose yourself in this controlled scrimmage report!

With the help of Todd Archer, I documented all 100 plays in Saturday's controlled scrimmage. These are the types of things reporters do when not making snarky comments about how great LB Junior Glymph looks.

I considered providing you with play-by-play coverage, but that seems a tad excessive. Here's what I can tell you: The offense finally started moving the ball.

The only problem was that it was the second- and third-team offenses.

I know he had to go against the first-team defense more, but Drew Bledsoe did not have a good day. He missed on his first three pass attempts and he held the ball too long (imagine that) a couple of times.

Tony Romo (left) raced the second-team offense down the field for a touchdown drive and then celebrated with a Tiger Woods fist pump that thrilled the crowd and caused reporters to laugh. Romo led the second-team on another touchdown drive against the first-team defense.

And much to e-mailer Brian M.'s delight, we had a Drew Henson sighting Saturday. Henson was 12-for-16 for 150 yards and led the offense on two touchdown drives and a field goal. After the first TD drive, Parcells was so thrilled that he sprinted (think Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy) up the field to congratulate Henson. He immediately gave Henson another series.

Keep reading for more exciting controlled scrimmage notes:

• The Breakout Player Award goes to...The pride of Northern Illinois University, Sam Hurd. I know you've already read about Hurd several times on this blog, but on Saturday, he took his game to another level. Besides T.O., this kid may be the most athletic receiver on the roster. He leaped high above Nate Jones to grab a 26-yard pass from Drew Henson. Later in the drive, Henson hit him in stride down the right sideline for 31 yards. When we asked chief scout Jeff Ireland which players stood out to him, Hurd was the first name out of his mouth.

By our very unofficial stats, Hurd had five catches for 95 yards. Now, I'm not telling you to run out and draft him for your fantasy team. I'm just saying it's becoming harder and harder to keep this guy off your roster.

• Ellis no longer on an island: On the second play of the scrimmage, defensive end/linebacker Greg Ellis (left) beat RT Marc Colombo to sack Drew Bledsoe. On play No. 75, Ellis smacked Julius Jones near the line of scrimmage. A play later, he leaped to block a Bledsoe pass. And he was playing outside linebacker on those last two plays. Who knows. Maybe this switch is starting to grow on him.

• Where can you find a Barber around here? Listen, I know this has been covered in a couple of other reports, but it bears repeating. Barber began the second series with a 23-yard run around the right side. We had him rushing for about 70 yards and he also made some plays in the passing game. Julius Jones is still your home run back, but Barber's the guy who could wear down a defense.

• The OL shuffle: For now, Rob Petitti is playing in front of Flozell Adams at left tackle. Adams did get one series with the first team, but then Petitti came back in. Petitti played left tackle for four years in college (Pittsburgh) and said the transition wasn't a problem. It did catch him by surprise, though. Some of us were pretty concerned about the offensive line heading into this season. And now, with all the shuffling, that concern is growing. I did see assistant head coach Tony Sparano come up and congratulate rookie offensive tackle Pat McQuistan after the scrimmage. McQuistan (6-5, 315) played mostly guard in college.

The defense had seven sacks in the 100-play scrimmage, but not all of them were the line's fault. We saw rookie tight end Anthony Fasano get overwhelmed by DeMarcus Ware a couple of times, but that's going to happen.

DREW HENSON
Pass complete to Ryan Hannam 6 yards in the flat on a dump off
Demetris Summers rush 10 yards up the middle
Pass complete to Miles Austin 15 yards right side
Pass incomplete to ???? Quincy Butler credited with the breakup
Demetris Summers rush 5 yards (counter)
Pass complete to Skyler Green 10 yards in the flat
Pass incomplete to ??? on a play action rollout pass broken up by Nate Jones
Pass complete to Skyler Green 11 yards for the TOUCHDOWN – play action, Green in back of end zone made sure to keep both feet in.
Suisham PAT attempt GOOD

• I know it's early, but CB Terence Newman is on the verge of becoming a special player. He rarely gets beat and makes plays against the run. WR Terrance Copper looked a little woozy after Newman raced up and decked him after a short pass. The ball popped out for an incomplete pass.

• The Cowboys are doing everything they can to keep FB Lousaka Polite on this team. He's becoming comfortable in the F-back position. Polite's also starting to get the ball quite a bit around the goal line. He had a 3-yard touchdown Saturday.

• Oh yeah, you wanted some Bobby Carpenter news, didn't you? Well, he had two sacks Saturday. He could end up being one of the more versatile players on the team. He's smart enough to learn the outside and inside linebacker positions. He also made some nice plays in pass coverage.

When Drew Bledsoe dumped the ball to Julius Jones, Carpenter closed on him quickly. I'm not sure whether it will be inside or outside, but Carpenter will be starting soon.

• DE Chris Canty had two sacks Saturday. The first one was a coverage sack, but on the second one, he just exploded past an offensive tackle. Canty even did a strange-looking sack dance after the second one.

It's remarkable to watch a 6-7 guy with this much quickness. Canty and Spears have the talent to become one of the best DE tandems in the league.

• A lot of us had dismissed TE Tony Curtis' chances of making this team, but he made some nice plays in the passing game Saturday. He almost made a miraculous catch on a ball from Tony Romo early in the scrimmage. Later, he reached high in the air to snag a Romo pass without ever breaking stride. Very nice scrimmage for Curtis.

• Really, really quick hits: Ryan Hannam had a one-handed catch of a Drew Henson pass...Tim Cowlishaw's favorite player on this roster, LB Junior Glymph, hit Tyson Thompson for no gain on one play...Sam Hurd's leaping 24-yard catch early in the scrimmage may have been his best. He showed great body control during his catches...Patrick Crayton was called for pass interference...Pat McQuistan was called for holding on a running play...Aaron Glenn raced over to break up a Drew Bledsoe pass early in the scrimmage. Glenn's having a nice camp...Kicker Shaun Suisham missed a 50-yard field goal, but then made a 47-yarder. Mike Vanderjagt nailed a 44-yard FG after Romo's first drive...Cowboys kid and former Texas Tech linebacker John Saldi sacked Bledsoe on one play...A few plays later, DeMarcus Ware ran over Fasano on his way to sacking Bledsoe...Don't want to shock you with this, but LT Flozell Adams was called for false start. I did hear Parcells blame it on Romo, though...The Cowboys are taking the day off, so we're going to do the same this afternoon.

Log on early and often Monday.

Posted by Matt Mosley at 11:54 AM (E-mail this entry) | Comments (0)

Lose yourself in this controlled scrimmage report!

With the help of Todd Archer, I documented all 100 plays in Saturday's controlled scrimmage. These are the types of things reporters do when not making snarky comments about how great LB Junior Glymph looks.

I considered providing you with play-by-play coverage, but that seems a tad excessive. Here's what I can tell you: The offense finally started moving the ball.

The only problem was that it was the second- and third-team offenses.

I know he had to go against the first-team defense more, but Drew Bledsoe did not have a good day. He missed on his first three pass attempts and he held the ball too long (imagine that) a couple of times.

Tony Romo (left) raced the second-team offense down the field for a touchdown drive and then celebrated with a Tiger Woods fist pump that thrilled the crowd and caused reporters to laugh. Romo led the second-team on another touchdown drive against the first-team defense.

And much to e-mailer Brian M.'s delight, we had a Drew Henson sighting Saturday. Henson was 12-for-16 for 150 yards and led the offense on two touchdown drives and a field goal. After the first TD drive, Parcells was so thrilled that he sprinted (think Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy) up the field to congratulate Henson. He immediately gave Henson another series.

Keep reading for more exciting controlled scrimmage notes:

• The Breakout Player Award goes to...The pride of Northern Illinois University, Sam Hurd. I know you've already read about Hurd several times on this blog, but on Saturday, he took his game to another level. Besides T.O., this kid may be the most athletic receiver on the roster. He leaped high above Nate Jones to grab a 26-yard pass from Drew Henson. Later in the drive, Henson hit him in stride down the right sideline for 31 yards. When we asked chief scout Jeff Ireland which players stood out to him, Hurd was the first name out of his mouth.

By our very unofficial stats, Hurd had five catches for 95 yards. Now, I'm not telling you to run out and draft him for your fantasy team. I'm just saying it's becoming harder and harder to keep this guy off your roster.

• Ellis no longer on an island: On the second play of the scrimmage, defensive end/linebacker Greg Ellis (left) beat RT Marc Colombo to sack Drew Bledsoe. On play No. 75, Ellis smacked Julius Jones near the line of scrimmage. A play later, he leaped to block a Bledsoe pass. And he was playing outside linebacker on those last two plays. Who knows. Maybe this switch is starting to grow on him.

• Where can you find a Barber around here? Listen, I know this has been covered in a couple of other reports, but it bears repeating. Barber began the second series with a 23-yard run around the right side. We had him rushing for about 70 yards and he also made some plays in the passing game. Julius Jones is still your home run back, but Barber's the guy who could wear down a defense.

• The OL shuffle: For now, Rob Petitti is playing in front of Flozell Adams at left tackle. Adams did get one series with the first team, but then Petitti came back in. Petitti played left tackle for four years in college (Pittsburgh) and said the transition wasn't a problem. It did catch him by surprise, though. Some of us were pretty concerned about the offensive line heading into this season. And now, with all the shuffling, that concern is growing. I did see assistant head coach Tony Sparano come up and congratulate rookie offensive tackle Pat McQuistan after the scrimmage. McQuistan (6-5, 315) played mostly guard in college.

The defense had seven sacks in the 100-play scrimmage, but not all of them were the line's fault. We saw rookie tight end Anthony Fasano get overwhelmed by DeMarcus Ware a couple of times, but that's going to happen.

Mosley had it all wrong Ad. Parcells doesn't like DH and had given the defense strict instructions to kill him. So he ran up the field, excuse me, sprinted up the field and told DH to do it again so that they had another chance to kill him.

Mosley had it all wrong Ad. Parcells doesn't like DH and had given the defense strict instructions to kill him. So he ran up the field, excuse me, sprinted up the field and told DH to do it again so that they had another chance to kill him.

In all seriousness Ad, I gotta ask you a question. My college coach was much like BP in that he said stuff to irritate you in hopes it made you mad and work harder. What was your coach like? I've never heard of a football coach who gushed praise. Not even Vermeil who said Larry Johnson needed to take off his diapers.

In all seriousness Ad, I gotta ask you a question. My college coach was much like BP in that he said stuff to irritate you in hopes it made you mad and work harder. What was your coach like? I've never heard of a football coach who gushed praise. Not even Vermeil who said Larry Johnson needed to take off his diapers.

Why is so much read into BP's cutting little remarks?

Any ideas?

My DC was a bonafied jack arse! It was impossible to like him as a crab (freshman) but as you got older you really appreciated him. Til this day I love him to death but I remember times during my crab year I wanted him dead, lol.

Imo, coaches like Parcells are not hard to figure out, just pay attention to what they do and very few things they say.

I am pulling so hard for Henson "to get it" because it is absolutely imperative to the future success of our franchise that we get a QB with the skill to compete with Brady, Manning, Palmer and Rothlisberger.

&#8226; The OL shuffle: For now, Rob Petitti is playing in front of Flozell Adams at left tackle. Adams did get one series with the first team, but then Petitti came back in. Petitti played left tackle for four years in college (Pittsburgh) and said the transition wasn't a problem. It did catch him by surprise, though. Some of us were pretty concerned about the offensive line heading into this season. And now, with all the shuffling, that concern is growing. I did see assistant head coach Tony Sparano come up and congratulate rookie offensive tackle Pat McQuistan after the scrimmage. McQuistan (6-5, 315) played mostly guard in college.

Isn't the move of Petitti to LT more about protecting Bledsoe in the preseason since Flo is obviously not ready yet. I sure wouldn't want to start McQuistan or a gimpy Flo against Seattle.

And much to e-mailer Brian M.'s delight, we had a Drew Henson sighting Saturday. Henson was 12-for-16 for 150 yards and led the offense on two touchdown drives and a field goal. After the first TD drive, Parcells was so thrilled that he sprinted (think Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy) up the field to congratulate Henson. He immediately gave Henson another series.